OKEECHOBEE- Florida's dry season is supposed to start around November and run through April. But this year Okeechobee County opened 'dry season' by  pumping out floodwater from a "one-in-200-year" storm. And forecasters say one of the strongest El Niño events on record is lining up to keep the rain coming through winter.

The deluge of rainfall on Sunday dropped about 10 inches on the City of Okeechobee, and up to 18 inches in other parts of Okeechobee County. The storm poured rain on ground already soaked by four "one-in-100-year" storms in the previous two months. Public Safety Director and Fire Chief Justin Hazellief said all drainage ditches are flowing, but the water will take time to recede. Assessment teams are going door to door in the hardest-hit neighborhoods.

OKEECHOBEE -- The front yard of a home in Southwest Okeechobee was flooded on Nov. 1 as more than 8 inches of rainfall was reported in less than 24 hours. [Photo by Katrina Elsken/Lake Okeechobee News]

Okeechobee Mayor Dowling Watford said about 10 inches fell in six hours, overwhelming the city's drainage system and pushing water into homes and businesses. "I've lived here all my life, and I've never seen flooding like we had, not even in hurricanes," he said at a Nov. 2 briefing at the county Emergency Operations Center.

El Niño pushes the jet stream south, and that steers winter storms across Florida instead of north of it. Normally, Florida's dry season runs from late fall through spring, with most cold fronts fizzling before they reach the peninsula. In an El Niño winter, the subtropical jet sets up farther south, carrying a steady train of clouds, rain and Gulf of Mexico low-pressure systems across the state.

NOAA's Climate Prediction Center says El Niño is still strengthening and gives it a better than 83% chance of staying strong to very strong through January–March 2027. Its Oct. 8 update put the chance of a historic event at 83% for October–December and 70% for November–January.

OKEECHOBEE -- Sandra Pearce shared this photo of flooding at her home on 15th Street in Okeechobee on Nov. 1. [Courtesy photo]

NOAA's 2026–27 Winter Outlook, released Oct. 16, favors wetter-than-average conditions across the South and East Coast, including Florida, from December through February, with near-normal temperatures for much of the Southeast. National Weather Service Director Ken Graham said a very strong El Niño will likely shift the jet stream south and east, tilting the odds toward stormier weather across the South. He also warned that heavy precipitation can fuel destructive flash floods.